From Publishers Weekly

A steampunk mystery that includes Ottoman automatons, ancient Egyptian artifacts, a malevolent stage magician, and a quest for immortality should prove entertaining, but unfortunately, The Osiris Ritual falls short of its promise. Set in the usual Victorian London, the story feels clichéd and mechanical. The main character is a third-rate Sherlock Holmes and Regency hero mash-up, and nothing particularly new or interesting happens. A romantic subplot is evoked but left unresolved, and the author uses the excuse of a series to avoid tying up loose ends or construct a narrative arc that delivers on the promised story. (Aug.) (c)
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Review

“ A wonderful penny-dreadful. It’s an unashamed galloping romp through the ins and outs of the Victorian metropolis and the lurid generic conventions of adventure fiction. All the way through I felt like George Mann was having a whale of a time with this.”

—Paul Magrs, author of several Doctor Who novels and a Carnegie Medal finalist, on The Osiris Ritual

“ Newbury and Hobbes make a charming pair, and their investigative adventures are a great deal of fun. Mann’s reimagined Victorian era is a fabulous place, and the mix of pea-soup fog, zombies, and clockwork automata makes for an excellent detective story. Let us hope to see more of Hobbes and Newbury.”

—Booklist on The Affinity Bridge

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“ [An] intriguingly bizarre version of 1901 L ondon...a strong addition to the ‘steampunk’ subgenre and one that creates a lively alternative world.”
—Library Journal on The Affinity Bridge